I had a lot of fun considering favorite picture books as I considered the variety of ways one could organize a story. So many times in elementary school kids are given a prescription for writing and they must follow that. Writing is more fun when students are free to organize their thoughts or ideas creatively. The following four picture books provide inspiration for young writers by demonstrating different book structures and encouraging students to organize a story uniquely.
First, many books follow a traditional structure with a clear beginning, a middle, and an end in which the main character has changed. I think this is the default way teachers and students expect to have to write. But, it is always fun to find a story told a little differently.
One thing I think would be fun would be to read a variety of books with similar organization and compare them. My Goldilocks unit, for example, compares a few of the same stories. Read a traditional Goldilocks story, and then read Previously by Allan Ahlberg and illustrated by Bruce Ingram, which tells the story backwards! What a unique story organization
Of course, there are the books that are completely different. There is no beginning, middle, and end. A circle story certainly has a unique story organization
I love Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein. This follows a circle pattern of organization, as Amelia smiles, which causes Miss Higgins to make her son cookies and send them to Mexico, and so forth, all the way back to Amelia. This creative organization makes for a feel-good story, but it's also a creative way to show our influence in the world besides writing with a traditional beginning, middle, and end.
Another creative approach to story organization is the ABC book. Admittedly, these get tiresome, so it's always a joy to find a creative ABC book. If Rocks Could Sing by Leslie McGuirk provides a new approach. Ms McGuirk collects pretty rocks off the coast of Florida, and this book is a collection of the rocks she found that make pretty shapes: letters and numbers, animals, etc. This is a wonderfully organized way of showing off her rock collection!
And then we have a book I found just this week. How to by Julie Morstad features picture of kids doing something, with a "how to" direction at the top. For example, the cover shows a girl drawing on the ground. That page correlates to "how to make friends." I loved the creative way of organizing the ideas of what kids like to do, and the effect those fun things have on others.
When we read books with such creative story organization structures, it helps us consider the ways we could organize our ideas. Reading widely and of a variety of styles helps students develop confidence in considering their own creative writing organization styles. Writing creatively is freeing!
Are you looking for writing prompts for your elementary school students? See more writing activities and writing prompts that I've shared on this blog!
What other pictures books may be inspiring for student writing organization?
I’m always excited to find picture books that would work well as writing prompts for elementary school kids, so I was extra excited to find Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle by Joseph Coelho (Candlewick, 2023). This new volume has stories that are each, as the title suggests, just ten-words long. With a variety of illustrators
Read MoreA fantastic 60-page picture book geared for middle school students (The One Thing You’d Save) can mentor your students in in the writing concepts of ideas, voice, a new type of poetry, and even more. Just like in the book, an open discussion can help students recognize the impact of these good writing traits. Further,
Read MoreThe students in my co-op writing class (who are in first to fourth grade) really struggle with starting a story. For the most part, every story starts with “Once there was….” and goes from there. “Once upon a time…” is a close second. It is a challenge to get them to think outside of the
Read MoreWith Thanksgiving coming, it’s time to reflect on what it means to us personally, as well as the context in which we traditional celebrate the holiday. For my older students in my homeschool writing co-op, I found writing about history is a nice way to approach it. Why Read and Write about Thanksgiving? When it’s
Read MoreTo encourage my children to write more often, I’ve tried to make sure I have a writing center easily accessible to them in our school room (which is also our playroom). As we make writing a fun part of our days, my children get handwriting practice as well as practice writing from their own creativity
Read MoreWe created our own mail center in our schoolroom and play room because my kids love getting the mail. They love to send letters to friends, teachers, and grandparents. They love to send and receive mail. I made some monster post cards to help us practice writing, addressing, and sending mail. Of course, these aren’t
Read More